I played every character for a good long time. Aragorn was of course my first selection since he's essentially the biggest bad ass in the movie, and because of his ability to fight in hand-to-hand combat with a sword and use a bow and arrow. His strength is well balanced and he's a well-rounded powerful fighter, mixing subtlety with force.

Surprisingly enough, the dwarf Gimli is the most powerful playable character in the game, at least at first. His attacks clear out enemies so quickly it's surprising. An example of this was in the scene when I fought the Cave Troll. While it took a good two minutes to beat the Cave Troll with Legolas, with Gimli it literally took about four hits (15 seconds). Why is Gimli so easy? Although his single attacks are very powerful, he's slow to set up combos. Very slow. So, you're unlikely to gain many experience points or level ups using him because combos are more difficult to pull off in a crowd. Interesting¿

Legolas, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of Gimli. He's all subtlety and speed. His default weapon, unlike in the movie, however, are two single-handed daggers. But don't mistake him for a slasher. In a split-second, he switches to bow and arrow, letting fly lighting-fast attacks into enemies' skulls, bodies and limbs. Stormfront's lead producer suggested that Legolas is likely to be the hardcore, experienced gamer's pick. I agree. He requires more skill to play, but the reward is similar to seeing him attack enemies in the movie. His agility and speed is unrivaled here.

What is instantly noticeable about Stormfront's game is the dedication to the detail in the graphics, lighting, and the integration between actual movie footage and in-game cutscenes. The three levels we played, Top of the Wall (which occurs as the second-to-last level), Fangorn Forest and Plains of Rohan, demonstrated some of the most exquisite graphics in an EA Games title in a long while. While walking through the forest, players will view excellent details on the dense foliage, such as ribbed leaves, slightly hidden Tree Ents, and an assortment of particles, from breaking bits of trees, logs and plants, to subtle enemy movement in the treetops above. The latter part being the most interesting, since players can see feet in the upper section of the screen scrambling across branches, or enemies flying across the screen, providing a not-so-subtle foreshadowing of an upcoming enemy (in this case, the Cave Troll).

In one section, players enter into a stream, progressively sinking deeper until they reach up to their waist, slowing your pace as you make your through it. The water looks good. Players create waves and wakes that move believably across the screen. The reflections are also impeccably rendered, too; definitely worth seeing.

The game we played is still in progress, but even at this stage in the game, the sound development is exceptionally good, and will appear in Dolby 5.1 in the gameplay itself. What this amounts to is state-of-the-art sound effects and voices from the movie, but even better is how they're implemented into gameplay. Players walk through forests and across planes while little sound effects cast hints of possible enemies hidden behind trees or barriers. The developers are constantly playing with the player through the use of sound.

And in the larger, more monstrous stages, such as Top of the Wall, the 12th level, taking place at Helm's Deep, the intimidating waves of orc grunts and howls and the chaos of war truly creates a frightening, ominous tone that's rarely re-created in a game (though Medal of Honor Frontline did an excellent job of this). All this, and the enemy forces are constantly firing off giant catapult-flung fireballs that trounce the fellowship on the wall with pounding sound effects, including the scorching sound lit-up live bodies. In this level, players are in a defensive mode, protecting the walls, pushing off ladders and fighting off groups of armored powerful orcs and goblins.

This level is also noteworthy because it demonstrates, perhaps better than any other level we saw, cinematographic detail that's worthy of the movie. Each level starts out with a CG cut of the movie, and as the short segment progresses, the scenes then switch to in-game cuts. You don't really notice the change until the game enables you to play, and by then the feeling that you're playing the movie has already engrossed you. The transition scenes are exceptionally well produced and play an excellent trick on your senses, even when you are expecting them to happen. And, let me tell you, after having lived (albeit just barely) through the initial wave of the 32-bit FMV era, with its cheesy point-and-click gameplay, The Two Towers, my friends, is an excellent sign of production progress.

While I wasn't flabbergasted by the gameplay in The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, I was simply engaged and happy. Warmly surprised is closer to the point. The level of dedication shows -- in gameplay, graphics, sound, and presentation -- and the game clicks on all fronts. As far as I can tell, this game is in very worthy hands. It's sturdy with proven gameplay techniques, and while it may not be the most original game on the planet, it's going to make a lot of J.R.R. Tolkien fans very happy indeed, including me.